PCCS Introduces Pre-Populated Bookmarks for Enhanced Accessibility!

We’re thrilled to announce a fantastic update for both staff and students at Plymouth-Canton Community Schools (PCCS)! Our commitment to providing a seamless digital experience has led us to introduce pre-populated bookmarks, making it even easier for you to access essential resources. These bookmarks are conveniently organized within a designated folder labeled “PCCS Bookmarks” on any Chrome browser when logged in with your PCCS email.

For Staff:

  1. Clever – Convenient access to Clever services.
  2. Google Dashboard – Aka the Waffle
  3. Mistar-Q – PCCS Student Information System (SIS)
  4. Tech Requests – Submit technology support requests.
  5. Rubicon Atlas – PCCS Curriculum – Explore PCCS curriculum.
  6. Canvas Catalog – PCCS PD – PCCS catalog of PD offerings
  7. PCCS Tech –  PCCS technology information  and support
  8. NWEA MAP Login – Easily log in to the NWEA MAP assessment platform.

For Students:

  1. Clever – Convenient access to Clever services.
  2. Canvas – Navigate your courses on the Canvas learning platform.
  3. Google Dashboard – Aka the Waffle
  4. Mistar-Student Connection – Access grades, attendance, and other student records
  5. Digital Learning Hub – Explore resources for digital learning.
  6. K-12 Student Handbook – Refer to the comprehensive student handbook.

We want to emphasize that this enhancement won’t affect any bookmarks you’ve already created. You’re still free to add and customize additional bookmarks to suit your individual needs.

These bookmarks will only appear when logged into Chrome with your PCCS email. For those unfamiliar with logging into Chrome with your PCCS email visit this link for support with logging in to your web browser.

At PCCS, we’re dedicated to providing a user-friendly digital environment, and we believe these pre-populated bookmarks will be a game-changer in streamlining your online experience. We hope you enjoy the added convenience and accessibility they bring to your daily routine. Happy browsing!

First Reminder: Close Down Technology for Break

As winter break gets closer, please add the following to your to-do list:

On FRIDAY before you leave…

PLEASE SECURE ALL VALUABLES in the classrooms and office spaces you inhabit. This includes laptops, document cameras, Apple TVs, remotes, and interactive pens.

Further, would you please make sure all iPads and Chromebooks are in their carts and those CARTS ARE LOCKED and plugged in before leaving.

Finally, would you please also POWER OFF any of the following equipment, if it is equipment you handle:

  • projectors
  • sound amps
  • SmartBoards
  • desktop computers
  • monitors
  • printers

THANK YOU for your cooperation.

Tech break checklist

GIFs in Google Slides

gif and sticker options

No matter where you fall in the GIF camp (hard or soft G), you can be excited about the new update in Google Slides. You can now directly search and add a GIF from the insert menu, no need for any extensions or add-ons.

image of gif and stickers in slides announcement

You will be able to search for the GIF or sticker you want.

You can filter for stickers or GIFs. Enjoy this new feature!

gif filter option

Join this Year’s Ditch Summit

promotion for ditch summit

Once again, Matt Miller is putting on the Ditch That Textbook Digital Summit. It is a free online conference for teachers to discuss technology, pedagogy, and more. As usual, you can access the recording, notes, and presentation resources through the end of the summit, January 5, 2024. You will also gain access to videos and presentations from previous summits.

It begins December 11, 2023. Go to https://ditchsummit.com/ to learn more and register.

Create Your Own Connections Puzzle

Many people enjoy playing the New York Times game, Connections. Did you know you can easily create your own Connections puzzle to share with students or vice versa? No log-in  is required, just create the puzzle and share the link. This could be a great way to review vocabulary and find connections between concepts.

image of puzzle maker

Try it yourself! https://connections.swellgarfo.com/

November Edtech PD Offerings

This month, teachers are working through the professional development window. You have until November 30 to complete 6 hours of professional development courses. We have over 200 offerings available at Canvas Catalog. We have several new courses to help you utilize the district’s edtech tools including:

Other courses highlight: Canvas, Newsela, Canva, Edpuzzle, Seesaw, WeVideo, IXL, and Read&Write for Google. Search the Catalog for those items to see the options.

 

Canva for Education School Teams

We have recently updated Canva to incorporate school teams. Now we can send up a brand kit for each school and have more ability to choose what tools are available for different age levels. Additionally, if you have student classes rostered to you, you’ll have a “class” set up in Canva which works like a shared folder. Two important things to be aware of:

  • Going forward, please use your Canva school team, especially if you are using it with students. You can change teams with the team switcher:

  • If you have designs in the other team that you want to use with students, you can copy the design to another team.

steps to copy to another team

If you are already a Canva user, the next time you log out and log back into Canva, you’ll be joined to the new school team. Your pre-existing content will be accessible by switching between teams; you can copy designs to your new school team by following these steps. Click here to log out of Canva to get started.

  • Please read the Canva teacher’s guide, even if you’ve used Canva before – there are a few differences between our new organization-wide version of Canva and versions you may have used in the past.
  • To learn more about using Canva to support your work, check out Canva’s general learning site (Canva Design School) or their Teacher Resources page for resources specific to K-12 students and teachers.

Seesaw Rebrand! Look for the new icon October 27!

Seesaw is rebranding! Seesaw began over a decade ago with a mission to provide every elementary student with joyful and connected learning experiences that lay the foundation for success in life. On October 27, 2023 Seesaw will launch a new logo, app icon and marketing website inspired by the learning loop. They’ve updated our colors and fonts to demonstrate our commitment to accessibility and enabling all learners to participate effectively.

To support the transition in your classroom, seesaw has created classroom printable materials, resources, and an FAQ to answer questions. These will allow your students and families to get familiar with the new brand logo and icon. Find these exciting resources here.

At PCCS all K-2 students have access to seesaw for schools through clever with rostering through the district. If you are not in grades K-2 and want to use Seesaw with your students, you can do so by sharing a code for students to join your classroom in Seesaw. If you have any questions about Seesaw, please submit a tech request.

Resource: Science Journal for Kids and Teens

screenshot from website

 

Are you looking for an exciting way to bring real scientific research into your classroom? Science Journal for Kids offers a free online science magazine featuring peer-reviewed research papers adapted into kid-friendly language.

Each article on the site includes:

  • Assessment questions and answer keys
  • Introductory videos
  • Keywords, reading levels (some articles offered at multiple reading levels), and curriculum alignment
  • Some articles are translated in up to 5 languages
  • Additional teaching resources like slideshows, labs, quizzes, and recommended websites

The Science Journal for Kids team selects recent, high-impact research papers covering diverse topics like pollution, endangered species, climate change, and more. They rewrite the papers using common vocabulary, real-world examples, and funny anecdotes, when appropriate, to make them accessible and engaging to students.

The adapted articles are then reviewed and approved by the scientists who authored the original research. Experienced science teachers also provide supplementary materials like presentations, hands-on activities, worksheets, and quizzes to easily integrate the articles into your curriculum.

With Science Journal for Kids, you can introduce your students to cutting-edge scientific discoveries in a format they’ll understand and enjoy. This free resource saves you time in locating age-appropriate materials and supplements them with everything you need to actively teach the concepts.

Bring some excitement into your classroom and tap into your students’ natural curiosity! Visit Science Journal for Kids and Teens today to explore this invaluable teaching tool. If you are inclined, check out the TED Talk from the founder below:

October 23, 2023 Third-Party Google Apps Change

Google sign-in option

As online and digital learning has expanded in schools, many educational applications have been adopted that collect student data – sometimes more than necessary for their core educational purpose. Protecting student privacy is crucial, which in part explains why Google is implementing new security measures on October 23rd that will affect Google Workspace for Education users.

Google Workspace for Education, which includes tools like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, has provided schools with collaborative learning solutions. However, Google is putting additional safeguards in place to limit third-party access to sensitive student information. If you have chosen to “sign in with Google” or connected an app to a Google Doc or Sheet, you have been asked to allow another app permissions to data associated with your Google account. Google is now adding more safeguards to help restrict these permissions, especially for students.

For Google Workspace for Education users, new data protections will be enabled by default. Data sharing with third party sites and services will be limited. Certain advertising targeting practices will also be prohibited.

Over the last month, the technology department has done its best to review a lengthy list of more than 2000 third-party applications that one or more district users have enabled to work with their Google accounts. Some third party app integrations with District Google accounts have been or will be blocked on and after October 23 as part of this process. In many cases, if being able to use Google Sign in is not possible, a user could instead sign in with their username and password (a password reset may be required if the user does not already know their password). Other integration permissions that are revoked might yield some other inconveniences.

Please note, if you have a third party app whose Google integration stops working, the integration is required, and there is a legitimate educational purpose for continued app access, please submit a tech support ticket for review. 

While Google’s increased security may affect some workflows, protecting student information is paramount. Thanks for being flexible so that learning can continue to thrive in more secure digital environments.